"Blasting our way through the boundaries of hell, no one can stop us tonight..."

Slayer, the now legendary Thrash act that needs no introduction, has been putting out fairly consistent music for over 25 years. However, the old farts we know as kings of thrash these days, started somewhere in time, and that's where this album comes into play.

'Show No Mercy' is a balls-to-the-wall, relentless debut that is oozing with evil. While their Bay Area counterparts were more heavily influenced by the NWOBHM and took that more melodic road, Slayer slammed down some of the most relentless music known at the time, and even today. They pushed the boundaries of extreme music, and never looked back.

Technically, the album isn't flashy. None of the musicians are at the top of their game as they would be later in their career. It's understandable because this is a debut album from young men who, at the time, just wanted to kick ass. However, none of this detracts from either the Metal factor or the fun factor.

You'll find our guys doing what we know they can: Araya's menacing bass lines and hell-screams are ever present. King and Hanneman manage to pack the album full of simple, yet memorable riffing and the wild solos they're now known for, while sharing lyric duty and churning out some over the top, yet classic lyrics that make your insert booklet a legit satanic grimoire. And of course Dave is behind the kit, doing what he does best, and quite efficiently too.

While this album may often be overlooked for their later classics, Slayer managed to create not only devastating music, but songs that are still live staples for them today. Songs like "Die by the Sword" and "The Antichrist" can still be heard at any Slayer show today, while definitely being on par with anything post-1983.

San Francisco and Los Angeles must have been an exciting places to live in the early 80's. Thrash Metal was in its formative years and the scene was absolutely massive in the Bay Area and LA. Great bands were coming out of every dark corner and none more so than LA based ex-Deep Purple cover band Slayer.

The main difference between Slayer and the other bands in the scene was that from the very beginning they were covered in satanic imagery and mysticism which made them stand out from the crowd but also alienated them from ever achieving superstar status. Controversial from the start, Slayer released their debut "Show No Mercy" in 1983 on new label, Metal Blade Records, who had already helped get Metallica noticed on a compilation released the previous year.

Slayer have become one of the most respected bands in the metal scene by the fans and their peers. They've just released their eleventh studio album, World Painted Blood, and show no sign of stopping. This relentless career started back in 1983 with an album titled Show No Mercy, and it did exactly what it said on the cover.

This album has some really underrated songs, even in their debut they made an extremely good album, King and Hanneman had a great style since this first album and that's what amazes me the most, also Dave and Tom did a great job here. Very nice album indeed!

This is a terrible review I mean seriously this was incredibly brutal for 1984 and slayer has gone downhill since reign in blood BUT THIS IS THE DEFINITIVE SLAYER album 10 out of 10 savage, and unrelenting this album made metallica's kill em all only decent not a masterpiece. One of the most underrated albums from a band i actually dislike.

I agree that this has "atrocious sound quality", and way too much echo in the vocals.
But that's how all heavy music was at the time, I swear.
Still an OK album essential in the collection of every Slayer fan!